Exposing the Safelink Wireless government cell phone for the poor scam

by editor on March 11, 2009

Today we ran the story of Michelle Obama serving risotto at the soup kitchen down the street from the White House. She was surrounded by poor people frantically snapping photos with their cell phones.

If you’re anything like us (and we understand completely if you don’t want to be) you wondered, how can the poor afford cell phones, fancy ones with cameras? The monthly bills on these things can eat you alive. Is there some sort of free government cell phone service we didn’t know about?

Safelink Wireless Free Government Cell Phones

We were tipped off to the Safelink Wireless website. But please be warned that if you visit this site you are likely to walk away pissed off. Here’s what it says:

“SafeLink Wireless is a government supported program that provides a free cell phone and airtime each month for income-eligible customers.”

Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear us complaining about this outrageous abuse?

“Lifeline Assistance is part of a program that was created by the government to provide discounted or free telephone service to income-eligible consumers. To help bring you this important benefit, SafeLink Wireless is proud to offer Lifeline Service. Through our Lifeline Service you will receive FREE cellular service, a FREE cell phone, and FREE Minutes every month! SafeLink Wireless Service does not cost anything – there are no contracts, no recurring fees and no monthly charges.”

“Any Minutes you do not use will roll-over. Features such as caller ID, call waiting and voicemail are all also included with your service. If you need additional Minutes, you can buy TracFone Airtime Cards at any TracFone retailer Walmart, Walgreens, Family Dollar, etc). SafeLink Airtime Cards will be available soon.”

“Your exact benefits, including the number of free Minutes you will receive, depend on the state you live in.”

Free cell phone from Safelink Wireless: how to qualify

“The process to qualify for Lifeline Service depends on the State you live in. In general, you may qualify if…

You already participate in other State or Federal assistance program such as Federal Public Housing Assistance, Food Stamps and Medicaid. OR

Your total household income is at or below 135% of the poverty guidelines set by your State and/or the Federal Government. AND

No one in your household currently receives Lifeline Service through another phone carrier.

You have a valid United States Postal Address. In order for us to ship you your free phone you must live at a residence that can receive mail from the US Post Office. Sorry, but P.O. Boxes cannot be accepted.

In addition to meeting the guidelines above you will also be required to provide proof of your participation in an assistance program, or proof of your income level.

Un-freakin-believable. Outrageous. Shocking.

The way we read it, this Safelink Wireless program gives you a free cell phone, free monthly service, and free minutes. You qualify even if you make 35% more than the designated “poverty” level or if you’re already getting additional freebies from the government. And we see nothing that indicates you have to be a legal resident of the United States to qualify.

The site is also available in Spanish, leading to the not-too-unreasonable conclusion that a significant percentage of the free cell phones applicants conceivably could be, may be, might be undocumented aliens.

And, for God’s sake, we don’t even want to know how many of those filling out a Safelink application are currently stiffing a bank on a mortgage they never really qualified for in the first place.

We think we’re going to have a stroke. Would someone please call 911 on their free cell phone?

Note: Now Assurance Wireless (Virgin) and ReachOut Wireless (Nexus) are in the game. They plus other minor players account for 8 million government phones in circulation.

i voted for Romney but youre nitpicking on the poor having 250 minutes only with voicemail so doctors can return calls etc is silly–Ronald reagan created the first cheep phone lines for the poor–there are no landlines hardly

One more thing, you really stick to your guns when it pertains to what comes out of your mouth. You really beleive yourself and your ignorant and stupid thoughts, don’t you? What truth do you speak of? You have been bamboozled. I wonder if all the folks you have ever come across have always misled or lied to you. hmm?

“Next time you want to try this crap, try it with someone who hasn’t seen the YouTube video of the woman with 24 of these phones”. That video just got your panties in a bunch huh? Your are stuck on that video because that video is the truth in your mind. You really believe what your stupid ears hear and what your eyes see. What’s the matter BIG poppa, don’t like people who talk about Old Reagan? Cheer up. Anyway, in 1996 Clinton signed into effect the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This is where link up comes into play. Linkup America or Link up was established to help the low-income with discounts on their landlines. You really don’t know your landline history, matter of fact, you don’t seem to know history period. Then these discounts were being offered on cell phone services. Then they offered almost free services on dial tone because all a person needed was a dial tone to make or recieve phone calls at one point. Companies began to lower their prices on the dial tone hence, the almost free landline service where people were paying little to nothing ($2-10) for landline phone service per month. Now, it’s gotten a whole lot better because since 2008 they really began to advertise that a person who qualifies can get a free cell phone with free airtime or minutes (not a free landline), a free cell phone!!! I am so laughing right now at all you tards that don’t agree with the free cell phones. (you see, people nowadays don’t have much use for landlines because, well landlines just seem to be a thing of the past for most folks, even “poor” folks)(guess what, even poor people are on the move and not just sitting at home waiting for phone calls. They can’t move away from the landline because they are too busy waiting for job leads or interviews. While they are out looking for jobs between the hours of 8am & 3pm, if something happens to their children, they wll know becuase at least they have a basic cell phone. Landlines are good but cell phones are even better because you can travel with your communication method as opposed to a landline. (taking notes)?

And another thing, what company is actually sending you a packaged phone for you to use? Wouldn’t they lose money sending out out phones all willie nillie to whatever has an address? Of course they would lose money sending phones out like that. No company does that, that is why people go to stores or buy phones online at high prices because those phones cost a lot of money and big corporations do not want to just give out free $500-600 phones to just anybody.

Ahhhh, the good ol’ free government cell phone scam story. Just when you think it’s gone and forgotten, it pops back up again. 4827 comments. Looks like we’re going to make 5000 before too long. I don’t know if that’s something to be proud of or ashamed of (much like the grammar in the preceding sentence).

HEY — You don’t get a cam phone it’s a five dollar piece of sh–. The minutes do not roll over. It’s for people like A live alone Grandma. The poor get about 7 or 8 one minute calls a day, just enough to check on them. It’s the Goverment, A lot of people abuse it. That’s just a drop in a barrel. They pay $165.00 for just one claw-hammer. Guess what they pay for a drill motor or a skill saw? Also where else can people get money for not working? It’s the good ole USA if you don’t like it.. Move!

Safelink Phones (make sure it is a SAFELINK we r talking about now- dont JUMP to Conclusions ok folks) do NOT HAVE photo taking capabilities….maybe they were using someone elses phone. How much do you really truly know about this? Not every citizen that is in need… is some low life dirty rotten scoundrel. Many of us have worked our entire life and have possibly had a misfortunate accident – are now disabled- or gee maybe – just maybe they fell on hard times. If everyone thought like alot of the ppl that have made comments about this…and believe me I know people in REAL life that act the same …”disabled” people that are getting “YOUR” HARD EARNED BUCKS-what a inhumane society we have become. I agree some do not deserve…but some very much DO! A woman or man raising children alone- no car no way to get anywhere…can’t afford a phone… think before you speak. Everything is not all black & white anymore-many things actually Have a shade of grey.

I live in public housing as I do not make enough income to live anywhere else besides my car. Jobs are scarce where I live unless you are a self-employed semi truck driver. Neither I nor my neighbors can afford a phone. There are no pay phones anymore to be found, the unemployment office is over 20 miles away (we have NO public transportation) None of us can afford to move to where jobs are. Our buildings’ water softener broke open late one night (we were between on-site managers again) and the building was being flooded. If only one of us had one of these phones at the time we could’ve called someone to shut the water off BEFORE all 8 apartments were flooded beyond redemption. We lost everything and now live with mold we can’t get rid of. Before some smart-@$$ says we don’t deserve to own anything, let me remind you many of us have children and were better off before the Great Recession took our goodpaying jobs away from us. It is devastating to lose everything you own due to flooding because you couldn’t call someone to shut the water off! Not everyone in this country can get high paying full time jobs. I’ve watched most of those jobs get shipped overseas during the past 30 years.

Have some compassion people! How would you like to have a heart attack, stroke, fire, or flood and be unable to call for help because you can’t afford the cost of a phone? I remember $7.50/month unlimited local calls BEFORE they broke up AT&T, those days are long gone.

Oh, that’s right…..most of the more affluent folks in this country want the poor to simply drop dead or vanish rather than help us to help ourselves out of the deep hole this country is in at present. Not all of us are mooches, we are trying to get out and get up in life.

How is it that all these people with no phone have internet? BTW jackass, I had a flood in my house on 6-24, it was called Hurricane Debbie, and even if I could call someone, they couldn’t have turned off the water! BTW is everyone in your building too stupid to turn off a water shutoff valve? They are not allowed to be in a locked room, they have to be accessable. The unemployment office location has no bearing on your situation, since all states have unemployment claims online now, and as we can see, you have internet and a computer, so no excuses there. Truck driver school is a benefit that is available at no cost to you through many state training programs. Check it out on the unemployment website. Pay phones went away when the $10/month cell phone plan arrived. The affluent people that want the poor to drop dead are the Hollyweirdos that don’t want to know you if you can’t afford a ticket to their latest sex or blood fest, and the musicians that want upwards of $100 a ticket for their concerts. Go troll somewhere else, we have no use for stupid people here. Same for you john.

I call shenanigans! If you have internet access then I seriously doubt that you could not figure out a way to get help for your flooding building. No, based on your last paragraph, I am guessing that you live in your mama’s basement and are a Cheetos’s-eating-troll.

Here’s the part that gives you away, Troll: “most of the more affluent folks in this country want the poor to simply drop dead or vanish”. The affluent people in this country are the ones who WANT to give people a hand. they WANT to make jobs for people who can’t get a job. They are the ones who give to charity, who donate their time and money to help people who need help.

Only a miserable little libtard troll would believe that the affluent are heartless cruel people. Plus, if you were REALLY living in public housing, I guaran-damn-tee you that one of your EIGHT neighbors would have a phone – whether taxpayers paid for it or not!

Run along – I think your little friends at kos are looking for you. There are so few of you now, they get really lonely when you escape.

If Petnut had a brain in his/her head, when the flooding was going on, they wouldn’t have been looking for someone with a free phone, they would have gone outside and turned the damn water off. How difficult is this?

ANYONE and EVERYONE that has a problem with these poor people having a gov. cell phone should go get a life. I work my ass off 60hrs a week in a hot as hell warehouse and I have 2 children to take care of including all my bills and car insurance for 2010 JEEP Grand Cherokee SRT8 which is NOT cheap, not to mention a high cell phone bill for the 3 of us because my daughter is always downloading. Now, maybe I am just a better person most of you but I’ve WORKED for EVERYTHING I have today and I think it is a WONDERFUL thing that the government has done this for poor people that can’t even afford to feed their children half the time. I grew up poor and I think before you start putting people down for getting a free phone, that you should live in their shoes for a while instead of being mad they get something that you don’t. You people sound like the type of people that would keep walking if you saw something terrible happening to someone on street instead of stopping to help.Times are a-lot different now than 30-40-50yrs ago when people could survive having 10 kids and giving them hand me down clothes and oatmeal to eat every night. God doesn’t sleep, you should watch the things you say and think. Everything you have can be taken away in the blink of an eye and you might need gov. help one day and I pray that if it does happen to all of you down talkers and haters and you do need help, that you have to suffer without, I HOPE ALL OF YOU EVIL FUCKERS BURN IN HELL!!!!!!!!!!!

Trust me tool boy, you are no better than any of us! We all worked for everything we have. The people you are better than are the lifelong freeloaders that have no intention of making their own way in the world like you say you did, rather, they want to see what government freebie they can get next, that you and we are paying for. There used to be a great plan to take care of those that are temporarily down and out, but then along came FDR and his plan for the government to help everyone, and we now have the mess we are in today.

OK, up till the last sentence, I thought you might be legit. Though I did start to wonder about halfway through, when every line sounded like a pre-printed leftie talking points memo.

For the record, no one here has any problem helping the down-and-out while they are lifting themselves back up. Helping. Not supporting them for eternity in the style that we, hard-working people, have become accustomed to (and can no long afford ourselves because of the leeches).

Hey jack, you ought to have read thought the thread more closely. The only people that posters seem to have a problem with are the professional scammers not those who need TEMPORARY help. That being said, you now should get in your overpriced Jeep and get back to the hot warehouse. Some deadbeat needs his welfare check and you whining like a little girl here isn’t going to help put EBT acquired food on his table,

I’m rich, thanks to my career for which I worked hard to elevate my status. I have no qualms Roviding what people need – which would include the middle-classers that whine about being financially fucked by fulfilling the social contract they made when they were born. Too amusing.

If we gave you back your pittance of tax contributions you fight like hell to reduce, do spend it on your own fire brigade, classrooms for your children, and every other government based funding you receive for working, but not making enough to become totally self sufficient – the kind where MY money lands.

The Assurance phones do not have cameras; therefore, no pics of the first lady or anything or anyone can be taken. 250 free minutes of call time per month. They do not rollover and as of May 2012 (which Assurance did not inform users about) 250 free text messages per month. When you consider all the greed and corruption from the wealthy and powerful, all the corporate welfare and corruption, and the fact that 84% of the federal government expenditures to help people go to the middle class and only 16% go to the poor; you need to rethink your pathetic position. 4 hrs. and 10 minutes of call time per month for the poor bothers you, but by the grace of God, your status in life could change in a split second. Think about it.

Domestic violence victims – who generally (but not always) live in POOR communities – NEED this kind of service. They often CANNOT use any other phone – which they either don’t have access to, or can’t use without being caught by their abusers. This sort of device could SAVE THEIR LIFE.

And, if you would bother to read the intro at the top of the page, it refers people who actually NEED this service to the correct page to get it. Now, can we get on with badmouthing those who DON’T need it, yet get as many of them as they want?

YOU MAKE the case, these phones promote and promulgate the “victim” mindset the govt. wants EVERYBODY to submit to. When folks are allowed to stand on their own two feet and face down bullies and thugs THEN we’ll have a responsible society.

I was reading through some more of these posts and have one more comment for people on here to ponder: He who has no sin, let him cast the first stone…Really, to me, the only people who should have something to say negatively on this phone program are the ones who have never accepted any help or assistance or discount or coupon or gotten anything free of any kind but have paid full price for everything..be it a government program, a discount from cable, a store, a restaurant, an entertainment function, a product, a person helping you with a bill or a car broke down(their time, sweat&or money) or some other difficulty you have, a hospital or medical facility, the phone companies(oh yes, even they give undeserved discounts), a bible…Isn’t someone or some company eating the cost somewhere on all those things…I know I know-anyone who disagrees with what I say is thinking..”why shouldn’t I accept help from a friend, family or a stranger if I have a difficulty” and even more important..”why should I pay full price if I can use this coupon or discount or if I can get it for free”…because somehow you are being “helped”, whether you need it or not.-but anyone who has never in their life accepted one free thing, discount, coupon or help..please write a book or open a school for the world so we all can be self-sufficient 100% and happier in life. Just a loving but truthful comment to ponder on.

GEEZ, you’re freaking nuts! How can you compare using a coupon that a retailer, or restaurant sends you to drum up business, to getting a free phone that we have no choice but to pay for it for you? Quit feeling sorry for yourself and get a real job or start a business, and see just what we have to deal with!

once again, the flashingsctosman strikes again. Seriously, a billionaire in Mexico. So you are not happy that the poor Americans get aid and you agree that you would rather give your money to big companies/corporations/conglomerates, etc., but you have an issue with giving your money to these big Mexican corporations. Tisk, tisk.

Hi to all, my comment is this..I work..I am an independent contractor..I work hard and the government(IRS) takes(or I pay) taxes..just like many Americans. The amount that is taken from me by the government each year would pay for a simple phone plan for at least a few years, possibly even more than a few each time. The government doesn’t pay for but instead approves these privately funded programs for phones and I have one. I don’t know who gets the extra perks(i.e. camera phones) but these phones are simple..no camera or internet free options. I pay my taxes but still need some help. When I am in the position to not need help I will turn around and help those that need it. Yes, people take advantage of the system and don’t do what they need to live. Yes, even sometimes people find ways to get help because they actually need it. But from someone who works hard and yes, believe it or not, even pays taxes..I am frustrated at the people who have taken advantage of the system because they make hard-working people in need to be looked down upon. But I am still glad these programs(the ones the government finances and the ones they approve) are in place. I am not saying that taking unfair advantage of the system is ok but if everyone thought more about giving(by the way, this is a biblical principle) and less about scrooging..how much more at peace we would all be.

You must be doing something wrong, because this woman has a couple of dozen phones, and they’re touchscreen, Blackberry, etc. Don’t sit there and tell me your story of woe while I’m paying for your phone.

Your brain is obviously high in the sky or you just have shit for brains! You posted the link for this YouTube video and you should have done your homework. You try make yourself sound as if you are intelligent (with all your put downs in all your posts, as if that ever made anyone smart or smarter) but you really aren’t intelligent; but two things you are; is an angry and envious tard. Anyway, at 1:08 in the video link YOU POSTED, they show a smart phone. Not one cell phone company in our Beautiful America is going to give out a fancy cell phone like the ones you describe or the one you saw at the 1:08 screenshot which btw, is the only phone on there that is not prehistoric and has all the up-to-date functions of a real smart phones unlike those Blackberries you like to mention so much. Do your homework first. I have actually seen them firsthand. I have actually bought the kind that the cell phone companies give out. I bought it from cricket for $20 when I was not doing well in the financial aspect of what we call life. At that time (back in 2008 & 2009) I paid like $25 per month for 250 minutes just to have an emergency phone to be able to communicate with others. Many of them do not have any of those great things you so mention like touch screen and camera phones. You saw the black berry phones, really come on, how old are blackberry phones? Blackberry what? Yeah, blackberry phones were touch screen and may have had cameras on them & talk about prehistoric phones; the touch screen market has been redefined and improved extensively over the years since 2007 or maybe slightly before then. Geez! Are you learning from the lesson? Try talking to a teenager nowadays about a Blackberry and they are going to look at you like you lived centuries ago. Another thing, smart phones are not compatible with the free cell phone plans that these companies offer because people would really try to abuse the system. Smart phones are not fungible because the phone companies would have to provide data plans for these smart phones and since they are not going to get paid for these data packages or plans by anyone (meaning these “privately funded sources”), they are not going to provide people with smart phones because it costs too much money and there these phone companies will lose out big time. And we all know how you, karma, and flashingscotsman feel about taking away from big corporations who all they ever do is ask for freebies themselves only their freebies are much more expensive (billions worth). But I understand that you would rather keep them rich than to give out a couple of dollars a month to the poor folks. Btw, that universal fee that you so complain about paying, newsflashhhhhhh, everyone who owns a landline phone or a cell phone, pays that fee and you can’t do anything about it. You can’t control who the money goes to. Who cares if that money is used to fund these government subsidized phones! Phone companies do this for the poor because they are also helping themselves make more money. Ding ding, school is in; they make money by offering more minutes (of course, at a price) to the poor customer. Needless to say, the phone companies giving out these phones will make their money back somehow and they do it by offering more minutes for money in exchange. Secondly, if you were really smart, you would know that the news is extensively manipulated. More than likely, the news people fed the ignorant woman some BS lines to get her to say some stuff on camera because yes, (they probably knew or could tell just by looking at her or talking to her that she is ignorant) or probably even bribed her with yet another free cell phone to add to her collection. If the woman can get her hands on that many cell phones, who is to say that the media couldn’t either, just to put down all the folks who are receiving these free cell phones because one bad apple spoiled the rest of the bunch. But why would companies just pass them out just like that, out of a van? This doesn’t make sense. What makes sense is that they just give them out just like they show in the news cast to try to prove a fallacy as a fact but it doesn’t work on the intelligent folks out there. As others have mentioned on here (the empathetic ones), in most places in the US of A, there is a qualification process each person must go through and you only qualify for one lifeline service or discount in each household. If a person receives welfare, then your name and address is already tagged in the system and all systems are connected; the phone company that gave you the free phone, lifeline assistance, and the welfare office. Anyway again, the manipulation of the media only works on the simple-minded and angry folks like you poppajoe49. All of you who are on here complaining about these free cell phone giveaways must believe that you somehow are beyond reproach. You must be traumatized about something (something in your early life). I feel sorry for you and all your hateful comrade follower posters. The media is just trying to paint a horrible picture about poor folks and the government but nobody is looking at the billionaire that said to himself, hmm, what better way to make more money, “I think I got it George!”, I can have an agreement in place with the government for the subsidization of cell phones & service, that way I get some or all of my money back (the money I put out for all these basic phones), I can help the poor because I want to help, and I can also help myself in the process by making more money because I know folks are not just going to need 250 free minutes. They are going to run out of those free minutes because nowadays people talk a lot on the phone and are going to need more so I can offer them more minutes and get paid for it. This is just psychology at its best because it does not only single out poor people, this also works on all of the people who own cell phones who tend to go over their minutes every month as well and the folks who buy plans for lots of minutes. If we did not like to talk on the phone, we would not have overages or plans that cost a lot of $$.

I agree, it is devastating (to all hard working tax payers) to think that people could just lie around and accept assistance. But in my case, (and their are many more like me, who have been dealt a bad hand), these types of things are a blessing. I have people around me that feel angry with me because I accept government assistance, I am 6th generation German/Lebanon/Irish American, and I am very thankful for all the assistance received and proud that I may soon be able to stand on my own two feet. I intend to pay it forward, I have big dreams of opening a orphanage and shelter. All I have to say is life is too short to be angry, use your arguments and be precise, I’m not so sure we should be soo angry about this, there are soo many things in the world right now to be angry about.

Joza – I don’t think that MOST people are angry with people like you. That’s how this mess started out in the first place. Most people are humane, and feel that taking care of people who CAN’T take care of themselves is something that we need to do. The elderly, the ill, the disabled and the very young should not be suffering, when through no fault of their own, they cannot full provide for themselves.

However, our government quickly realized that by encouraging people who ARE able to work to sit on their butts and just take tax money, they could create an entire class of people who are addicted to the dole, and will continue to vote for the people who are handing out the freebies. That is NOT you. You sound like the kind of person that we are all happy to help (hence the thumbs up on your post).

We need to get rid of this underclass of people. We can only get rid of them by moving them forward. By actually taking control of their education and seeing that they learn A) that they can, and B) how to stand on their own two feet like you are actually anxious to do.

“We need to get rid of this underclass of people. We can only get rid of them by moving them forward. you posters ( & karma) should all be so lucky! Wishful thinking that you will ever accomplish being the good little teacher to the animal. Shame on you for the way you speak, as if you are not part of the “underclass”. “By actually taking control of their education and seeing that they learn A) that they can, and B) how to stand on their own two feet”. you commie!

For this thread to still fire up the base of ill-informed dooks that come here to blather on about our (IHTMers) hate of poor people is disturbing. For the record I post here, right under Karmaa, Penn Jillette’s take on charity and forced redistribution:

“It’s amazing to me how many people think that voting to have the government give poor people money is compassion. Helping poor and suffering people yourself is compassion. Voting for our government to use guns to give money to help poor and suffering people is immoral self-righteous bullying laziness. “People need to be fed, medicated, educated, clothed and sheltered. If we’re compassionate we’ll help them, but you get no moral credit for forcing people to do what you think is right. There is great joy in helping people, but no joy in doing it at gunpoint.”

Lazy government “workers” who can’t be bothered to check on eligibility, greedy contractors who will give people 50 phones, because they get reimbursed enormous amounts by the government, and entitled people who, to be fair, probably never even realize that they are cheating and stealing. (It’s hard to understand that when you have ZERO understanding of finances, business and government as the public schools these people attend make absolutely sure that they wont.)

It’s not hard to see that there is a huge problem, but the layers are so deep that it’s complicated to fix.

Wow, nice racist comments here. Think y’all need to go back to your Klan party. Actually, I’m a 29 year old WHITE man, unemployed, paying rent, and I need a cell phone. I don’t have a family, I am an orphan, and most of my friends are broke. And no, libraries do NOT give you free access to phones, printers, or internet for that matter. For the love of God, you’d think we live in 2012 but sometimes it feels like 1910 with all of the hatred.

First of all search all the paychecks the govt. pays out to employees who do what?and while your at it check out all the senator governor and any other high position holding employees paychecks and exspenditures logs before you get all concerned cause some poor citizen with some sort of disability be it mental or physical or just to uneducated for what ever reason has a cheap ass phone to keep in touch with this techno world we live in.maybe you would rather give more of your tax dollars so some politician can vacation wheever wherever and all their friends where do you think they get their payrolls ? you think it grows on trees Id like to have 25% of what any white house politician gets for pay FROM TAXES to do what ? do they work any harder for that money than some blue coller or general laboror thats why most benifite recipiants are disabled at early ages cause they have to do all the grunt work and hard labor that all the rick take for granted and god forbid the poor need help then you want to degrade them and make them feel less than human for asking for a friggin phone to reach drs, or loved ones , all you self centered selfish dogooders need to open your eyes an see the whole picture and not just where the media who works to please the rich tells you.

Your article above is VERY misleading. SAFELINK is VERY limited and is meant to provide minimal service for elderly and shut in folks as well as job seekers who are currently unemployed. I am a social worker and I help clients apply for these and they have been a lifesaver for some. First of all the free phone is not a fancy phone with a camera! None of the phones have cameras and are very basic phones. Many of them are used and restored phones. None of them are unlimited either. They get a limited number of minutes (at the most 260 local minutes anytime, no long distance, no texting and no data plan and certainly no rollover!). The other plan allows 120 minutes per month and does allow for texting at one text equals one minute. It does allow for US calls only. The last plan is only 67 minutes and allows texting at 1 text equal to one minute and US calls only and then you get rollover minutes if you don’t use all 67 minutes! Just doesn’t happen. So, your lavish explanation is seriously flawed and it is not nice to pick on folks who need this service. There is no money spent on this program by govt either. It is all private funding. The govt approves it and allows the carrier to use govt eligibility standards for those living in poverty, ie. SSI, SNAP, TANF, LIHEAP or a person can send in paystubs to verify income and be verified for assistance that way. Do not lie like this…it is not socialism any more than your driving your big SUV down the freeway is. It is really unethical and immoral to give out this kind of rhetoric and that ticks me off as someone who serves the folks most vulnerable in society. It might just be your grandmother or disabled uncle who needs this service some day! Until you have spent a day in their shoes, zip it!!!

Sometimes people don’t know what to say out their mouth!! Thank you for your wisdom and knowledge of Safelink. The program is a wonderful idea and I sure do appreciate the program. It surely helped me when I couldn’t afford to pay a monthly cell/home bill. It really comes in handy for those that are on a fixed income and struggle with what bill they will miss paying so they can pay their phone bill…..

Just think how much money you would save if you cancelled your internet service and cable TV! You could afford a top of the line cell phone plan, that gives you unlimited calling, text, and web, which would allow you to watch TV on your phone. I’d bet you would even have money left over at the end of the month!

Hey Poppajoe, Dont you know, cable tv is a right, so is the internet, and guess who gets to pay for that? We do………………Poor Vanetta ain’t gonna cancel nothing cause she is getting whats shes entitled to..in her mind…

This has always been, and still is, the thread that draws the libtards out. It’s about free stuff, so they are drawn to it like moths to a bare light bulb. Then they just bounce their empty little heads off of it until they grow tired and head to the cupboard for more Cheetos.

No facts, just more leftist propoganda. I’ve been dealing with the stupidity of people like you and her for far too long to put much more effort into a reply. It’s just not worth trying to explain the truth to those that don’t want to hear it. Just like the Che thread, lots of clueless leftist posts that are meaningless.

For poppa…U really r a troll.i have a safe link and nancy is correct.i have one not because I am a freeloader but because I am a single mother of 3 and out of work….why am I single and out of work ?certainly not because I am lazy but because after being married to a miserable pig (kinda like u) for 10 years he decided it would be fun to come in the door with his big 357 and blow half my face and all of my left hand into oblivion leaving me permantly disabled.i use my my right hand for dialing on my free phone and giving men like u the finger

Well remacc, I can see that you have major issues with men. I can understand that your “disability/handicap” et al., sets you apart from other “takers” but you need to understand something that these government programs are doing to you and to the fabric of this country, they are enslaving you to the wheelchair between your ears. These programs feed on your fears, by design. The people who foist these social engineering programs on us know, that given time, we all may come crawling to the altar of ‘gubmint gimmees’ for some reason or another. My father, may God have mercy on his soul, was an ardent, life-long communist. In other words, he didn’t work a day in his life. His father was an US representative (a communist) who had essentially given my father and his brother over to a relative (not a communist) to raise while he went off to DC to help bring about the NEW WORLD ORDER…The Brave New World we are witnessing. If you like what you see, if it coincides with your world view, if what socialism has brought to America has made it a better, more prosperous, safer place to live…then you have my sympathies and my pity. I don’t think you want my pity or my sympathy. I feel you haven’t been dealt a fair hand in life, but then, neither have any of the rest of us, but we aren’t standing in line to get free ‘shit’ because we think we deserve it just because somebody did us wrong, or somebody got more toys than us. I loved my dad…I hated and continue to hate everything he stood for. Communism, socialism, national-socialism are not the answer to any problem; if anything, they exascerbate problems that already exist and cause a plethora of problems down the road. Don’t let your ex have the power he seeks over you by allowing the trauma he caused you to become an overbearing crutch and shackles. As an aside: my father, the communist, beat me so hard, when I was four years old, that I had to be hospitalized and for this he went to jail. I and my little sister were promptly adopted by my first cousin, as a result, and we were raised by libtards instead of commies…not a lot of difference. When I finally accepted the cards I was dealt in life and took on the role of being responsible for my own life, deeds, acts, words, in other words, I decided to grow up and stop waiting for other people to give my stuff, my life took a decided turn to the right. I don’t blame other people or events for my problems in life and I don’t forget God for my successes. Change your outlook and your life will turn around. It won’t happen all at once, but it will happen. Good Luck and God Bless!

Since when do you pay for cable Tv other than your own douche bag? What poor person’s cable tv are you paying for. Poor and cable Tv can’t even go together or even flow in the same sentence because it is a contradiction you terrific moron. you are being condescending when you talk about “poor Vanetta”.

You don’t get out much, do you? I swore never again but this is just too rich. You do realize the comments you’re ranting at are a year old, right? And they’ve been subsidizing cable for years, where have you been?

honestly i was really harsh with poppa i think because of some of the name callin in his comments and because u r right (i do have issuses with men)i do not think of the incident leaving me handicap tho yes i could have used some help from the gov.but all i got was sent to a batterd womens shelter with my children and after a week (i couldnt stand it)i went back to the home i shared with my husband that i couldnt afford anymore because obviously he went to prision.in the last year my water has been cut twice…couldnt pay the bill.lthe electricty once…couldnt pay thye bill..and the only help i did get was that crummy phone because due to his incareation my (now ex-husband)cant fork out childsupport.so i get nothing in this state without them being able to garnish his wages.what a joke right?i do make ends meet now and that damn phone is why so i can be reached when someone needs their house cleand…i started a small lil side business by posting an ad in the paper for maid service.sorry so harsh poppa.

I know it doesn’t sound like much, but we’re praying for you, remacc. You deserve better days. We all understand when things set a person off — we’re a pretty good bunch (with the exception of the whiney-assed cheeto-boy, who’s never had a hard day in his life, but whines like the world’s coming to an end over the injustices and calumnies his idol Ron Paul has suffered).

? I’d given up reading these long ago but this caught my eye and I clicked without thinking. And I’m still confused after reading it. OH! Except for one thing, n!n poppa (couldn’t figure how to do a thumb in keyboardese, you get the point, HAH! a pun)

I actually did go back and read your post and aside from the names u sometimes call people u r right and kinda funny too.however I don’t understand how folks get these “freebies”.when I applied for gov.assistance after I was shot all they offered me was a phone and to take my children off my hands…I immediately withdrew any and all applications for assistance ,took the phone …placed an ad in the paper and waited for the phone to ring.and the few times some of my utilities were cut I was afraid to ask for fear they would take my children due to my incompetence so I kept quite and kept it movin.my ex may have made my left hand FUBAR but not my brain …after several months of physical therapy I did regain about 75% use of my hand and when I am not cleaning someone else’s floors I am a full time student….I graduate this January and I suppose it was your tax dollars that paid for my education because I only paid one semester and for that I give thanks.once I hit the workforce with an education I shouldn’t have any problems keeping the utilities on …..I hope.and someday maybe I can afford to have someone do my floors.

You see, your situation is different from these others. My complaint is the people that have no intention of improving their lot other than through government freebies. Like that woman I posted the video of that had 24 safelink phones. I congratulate you for your initiative in making your life better through hard work and drive. You are the type of person we all hope is getting the help we pay for. Good luck in the future.

Come on John. I’ve repeatedly asked you to explain this “truth” to me. I’ve repeatedly requested that you give specifics on the machinations of these things. I’ve requested the history of these “truths” in the academic sense. I’ve wanted to know who discovered them, or who formulated them. How these persons where influenced. By what events, men, time periods or other works. I’ve wanted to know what your sources were, so that I could peruse them for myself -considering the possibility that I already haven’t.

I’ve also wanted to know where these “truths” have been bore out by practice. Or exposed by accidents in the real world and not just in minds.

I’ve wanted to know how these “truths” are reconciled with the existence of other truths that they seem in opposition with.

But each time I’ve asked for some of the above you’ve clammed up and moved on. So I think it really is time that you put up or shut up.

You see, John, if I go to WalMart, or in my case, Verizon, and get a new phone, I have to give them money. That’s how they stay in business. But they give me a phone, and service. That’s called a trade, or transaction.

The money I give you is taken from me by force, by government, and you don’t give me a damn thing in return.

Well that is where you are wrong limpingcocksman , you indeed do get something in return and it is up your pretty little skirt. You are also correct about being forced into it as well. Its not the moon I’m referring to but your brown star. It’s ours!!!!

Of course, our resident troll is too ignorant to understand, that when it comes to corporate greed, there’s little difference between the working people buying phones from a corporation, and the government buying phones from a corporation, other than the forcible aspect of it.

1. Why wait? You have friends and neighbors and local job search places, libraries public and colleges where you can use phones, faxes and internet to look for work. Are you taking a vacation from job search…? Uhm doesn’t seem right. 2. Don’t believe you were ever rich unless you married into it and the man left you perhaps because you are a snotty bitch) 3. So you went from a snotty rich bitch (don’t believe that you actually worked to be rich yourself if you ever were) to a snotty poor bitch that takes vacations from job search while she waits for a free phone.

Class all the way…

This is exactly what I am talking about and why this thread should just be closed already.

Well, all those years ago when I would apply for a job, I first send a card, thanking the employer for the interview and told them I was very interested in the job! My next step was, to pick up my land line phone, and make a call to inquire on the status of my application. That’s how we did things in the big city!

It took, an hour or more on the train and a bus to get anywhere. I didn’t have a car at all. The phone was the most reasonable option. Today everything is done on the computer. Things have changed and it is more impersonal. Going in person, if you can is a good move! Do that once a week and they get so tired of seeing your they give you a job, just to get rid of you!

i guess you guys are young and dont remember a time where their were pay phones on every corner–ya know people need phones to call 911 -the cops hope we call when we have information to crimes even to call anonymous–i think youre nitpicking on poor people about phones–crime has dropped i think because the phones are everywhere and people call to report weirdos in neighborhoods–the phone companies like the phones because after priming the pump the poor will want more phone time cards to add and so they win and the cops win and people are safer-stop whining

Most of us here used pay phones when the they went up to a dime from being a nickel. Most of us remember no such thing as a cell phone existing, the closest thing to it being on Dick Tracy’s wrist. The grumble here is not about the poor people that actually appreciate the free services afforded by the taxpayers and who would work to pull themselves up out of the needful condition they are in. Rather, the people who feel they have a right to all things they need being paid for by the government – these people don’t know what a taxpayer is – because they are here and that is all. There are far too many that believe the government owes them money, food, strippers, crack, phones, video games, internet, porn, shoes and everything else they see on their free TV. Since there are too many ‘rich’ people that oppress the poor, the poor like them, keeping them underpaid and underfoot, the ‘rich’ ought to pay for their stuff. If a ‘rich’ person doesn’t want to pay them $54.63 US plus benefits to watch the ‘rich’ persons cat or car, then they deserve to have their needs met. Never mind all the scratch the drug dealers, burglars and pimps I’m talking about take without paying taxes. That’s their money, not the government’s. All the government has to do is print money and then there is more money for the government to pay those who the ‘rich’ won’t. It is really quite simple.

So, what you’re telling us is that you are just making another excuse to not put forth an effort. Get over your stupid BS and do something with your life! Your parents may be supportive to your face, but in private, they’re embarrassed and disappointed in you.

Kick, don’t doubt he’s never owned gold, but he does own some things. The poop stained underwear and semen crusted sweat socks his mommy washes for him, and the video games he bought from Ebay with our tax dollars.

I guess I’ll find out when/if it happens. One thing is that Corporations will no longer to exploit their globalization efforts to take jobs abroad as there won’t be enough real money to operate on a global scale which infinite monopoly money allows.

Excuses, excuses…you can use a freind’s or family member’s phone number (make sure they know you have put it down as a contact number) and check in with them daily. That is exactly what I did years ago before cell phones were commonplace as they are now. And yes I got the job even though I wasn’t right there to answer the phone and I had to call them back. It’s called “problem solving” duh ppl lol think!

these phones are provided to give people access to employers calling o set up interviews, housing programs to fulfill applications to move people from transitional housing to long term housing, 911 services for abused women and children, etc, etc all of the stuff that the majority of us do not have to deal with. you are all just slighted because you are not getting your hand out. well, have your spouse leave you, get laid off from your job and fall from grace. you will be thankful for these programs then and not until then can you appreciate that these programs are there. stop hating and dont comment until you have been there.

It is necessary to cut out the fraud and waste in the program. There are always those who make it difficult for everyone else. You are right, because you are on top today, doesn’t mean you won’t need help sometime in your life. I don’t want to think what it would be like, not to be able to pay my bills! Scary.

I remember the days, when I had to get a bunch of change and go to a pay phone. It was terrible, I would run out of change. When I was out of work, I started freelance writing. When my husband couldn’t get a job, he started his own business, with a chainsaw and a piece of old rope!

Now he has the right equipment, saddles and clips bull ropes and such! I love him for his heart and his hustle. He’s a good ole country boy that will find a way to earn a living! If he can’t get tree work, he will clean gutters…he always finds a way!

You have to admit, everyone is not built that way. My Dad had two jobs as long as I could remember. The only time he was out of work was when he had an operation. I respect a man or woman that will do whatever they need to do to care for their family!

I have learned that you will always have poor people, mentally ill, uneducated, learning disabled, etc. I can not say what makes a person give up on life. Meth addiction, mental, sexual abuse as a child, no education. What makes a person say life isn’t worth trying? They government wastes so much money on things we don’t even know about. Pocketing the money, stupid wars, bribes, and all. They would rather have us put our attention on the poor, than on the government who is the greatest crooks.

Taking our taxes and subsidizing oil companies…Oil Companies! Billions trying to rebuild others nations. What about building this nation. Don’t get me started on our crooked government. That’s why so many people have not plans of getting rid of their guns. You can’t trust them. They have always lied to us!

So don’t worry about a few million of free phones; run down those Billions they are throwing away on other things. Like the big bank laundering drug money and the government turning their heads. The poor people aren’t the enemy, take a good look at the government.

You see poppajoe9, it is like the prostitute and the john…if there was nobody looking to buy sex, there wouldn’t be any prostitutes! Remove the John and the industry dies. If the government didn’t created these programs, there would be no body getting a free phone. So is it the people’s fault, or the government’s?

Both. The people are lazy and greedy, and the government feeds off of that. The politicians want to stay in power, so they cater to the lazy and low info voter, who wants free shit. It’s a chicken and egg deal.

I’m sure that this person in the video is using her six, (or more, she’s not sure), for “mployers calling o set up interviews, housing programs to fulfill applications to move people from transitional housing to long term housing, 911 services for abused women and children”

What they are designed for and what they are being USED for are two different things.

That’s the problem with liberal ideas – they take what COULD be a good or compassionate idea, and then provide ZERO oversight and lax rules, so as to be “fair” to the underprivileged – and it is not 15 minutes before these poor underprivileged people figure out how to take advantage of it. Meanwhile the lib gets warm, fuzzy feelings for their own compassion, and the rest of us gt screwed to the wall paying for it.

Smarter move: offer job-seekers a room in the local unemployment office with computers, phones, faxes, etc. Give job seekers a voice mail account through the unemployment office. That way, they have what they need, and they still have someone “watching” to make sure they are only using our generosity for what it is intended.

Give welfare recipients a room on a farm, allowing them to grow their own food, and work hard every day to earn their benefits. After a hard day’s work, they can retire to the job seeking room, if they so desire.

I have work ever since I was 12 years old, I’m 55 with heart disease and other medical problems. I’m on disability now. If any body know, a person don’t get much money at all per month. I’m not complaining but like every body else I too would like a cell phone, but can’t afford to pay for a cell phone and the service for minutes. So I have a government cell phone. Get over your self and pray that you never become disable and can’t afford to buy a cell phone, unless you signup for a FREE GOVERNMENT CELL PHONE SERVICE. Safe Link is not a scam

When cell phones were not available, we had landlines and had access to those. When you have employers calling you for interviews and information, relying on others who may not be reliable or available or at work themselves, is not a very effective way to communicate. When cellphones were not available to you, employers expected a delay in correspondence. They do not any longer. If you had an ounce of sense, maybe you would have a speck of compassion and would want to help the people of this country to become employed instead of comparing what you were able to do 10 years or 20 years ago. Life is different now and employers have hundreds of applicants for one decent job. If you have to call them back tomorrow, you lose! You sound like a miserable person…so if you haven’t anything nice to say, don’t say it.

OMG I gave you a f***ing thumbs up! You f***ing mindless tax-sucking, excuse-making, marxist-loving, slatternly trollop. Where in the Hell did all of you f***ing trolls come from? Did our resident denizen of the under-bridge give you a conference call on his very own Obama-phone, or something? We have great compassion for those who actually deserve compassion, but you seem to think that we should have those same kinds of feelings for those of you who have made a life long habit of making poor decisions and making the rest of us clean up your f***ing messes! There comes a point, you f***ing twit, when adults need to put the hammer down and it’s never fun for the frivolous minded, tax-eating, scum-sucking, butt-kissing, sycophants and lay-abouts that intentionally make it hard for the rest of us. The reason life is different now is because idiots like you voted for a piece of shit, lying, non-american, chicago politician like You Know Who simply because he ran a slick campaign add or two. You low information voters have only yourselves to blame for the shit you find yourselves in. Elections have consequences and you f***ing idiots still want to blame the shit this lying, thieving bunch of criminal reprobates have done to this country on Bush! Wake up and smell the treason you f***ing Jezabelle!

Been there done that had no family members or friends to take calls for me … Businesses ought to really get with the times and use email but most won’t and some of us have kids and don’t have family and no time for friends … But thanks 4 tryna b so smart lol man i’m so confident in my intellect that I really don’t care what u think about how I type cuz IM not gonna sit here and put my time into this since I don’t care all THAT much lol

What makes you so sure she has internet- can u see her smartass joe? Maybe she is at the library- using someone elses ineternet– quit being so dang ignorant i have read alot of your posts here… u sound like a person in need of psycological evaluation…for depression or something of the sort. Not all Black & White genious.

This thread is always resurrected by an idiot liberal that gets angry because people dont want to pay for the phones of others. The liberal idiot also resurrects it because he or she has nothing new to apport to the site nor the world and wants to be angry about something. I mean that is so pathetic. It has been established that if you really need it just go and get it already, if you don’t and get it you should be ashamed of yourself. If you get mad because you are a shameful individual talk to a psychiatrist and leave the site alone.

We’re now at 4630 comments in this thread. Ad and Ed appreciate the fact that you guys continue correcting the lib morons on this thread, because to tell you the truth, we’re sick to death of it. Maybe we should retire it at 5000 comments.

You dummy, a speculative article in “The Atlantic” is proof of nothing. Note the wording of the title of the piece. You are trying to cram evidence into a preconceived conclusion that you have drawn. That makes you dishonest AND stupid.

Idiot. Corporate America sells products and services to people. Products and services that the people WANT. We GIVE our money voluntarily to companies that proved what we WANT.

Government, on the other hand, TAKES our money from us at gunpoint, and wastes it, or uses it against us. A lot of it is GIVEN to corporate America, against our wishes, and without us getting any goods or services for it. This is all done against our will.

You have me there. I am frequently speechless when I read your posts. I can’t even begin to understand how anyone could be so *deliberately* obtuse as you consistently are, frankly. You rather worry me, dear.

Did you even read the article? (where have I heard that before, hmm). Corporate crooks are trying to repeal the long established first-sale doctrine which gives you the right to resell your stuff. Without it, you can’t legally sell your stuff secondhand as the corporation owns the copyright and thus the item itself.

The thread had its merit and also the discussion was interesting. It helped people as they came to realize why there are so many bogus taxes on their phone and cellphone bills (and others for that matter). It makes people proactive as in sometimes you can get the company to get rid of it if you complain enough. Both sides of the conversation had great points, however when liberals and idiots took over it just completely created a vortex of stupidity that it became difficult to navigate. Now that it has been established that if people need it just go get and admonish to be responsible and stop once you no longer need it, the thread has served its purpose. The idiot morons that continue to plague the thread and resurrecting it are time wasters and it is really getting on my nerves.

It helped people as they came to realize why there are so many bogus taxes on their phone and cellphone bills

What scares me about this model is that once the gooberment sees how successful it is, they will start taxing all food items to pay for food stamps, then add another tax to your property tax to pay for Section 8, then tax your hospital bill to pay for Medicare and Medicaid. Their mantra is “it’s only a couple of pennies”, but all those pennies keep adding up until we have no more pennies to be confiscated! Where will it all stop?

Exactly. That is the fear, but a lot of these people don’t understand that. Somehow people just want to believe that money grows on trees and some people got more money trees than others but all can afford it. I find that to be destructive thinking.

Obviously this is a heated argument. And I’m not arguing for one side or the other. I just wanted to let people know that this blog is and/or a bit misleading (albeit sure not on purpose). The SafeLink program does NOT provide for even a sub-par phone nor does it have a camera, etc. The phone is so low budget, it doesn’t even have a way to plug in hands free headphones. They are so cheap and poorly crafted made that dollar store toy cell phones are more soundly built. (They are comparable to first generation trackphones. Trust me when I say that you would have to be VERY needy to WANT to use this phone.) The plan provides for $2.50 per month of call making/receiving/texts. Its intent is for people who cannot afford a phone to be able to have a way to make emergency/urgent calls and be reached by their employers, children’s schools, doctors, etc. This is highly necessary for the disabled and elderly. **Some can argue that there is no need for those people to need a “mobile” phone, but the cost per month for wired phone service (with local calling only) is a minimum of $12 more per month (not including phone companies’ installation and service charges).

This was around long before Mr. Obama became president, as was a multitude of corporate bailout and welfare programs. It’s just easier for you people to put blame on the poor for our bad economy rather then the all powerful corporate america who are the real criminals.

Until you start a 4000 post thread detailing how corporate welfare is the real “scam”, I have already won this debate.

You Title says “Scam” how is this a “Scam”? I’ve worked all of my life with little or no help like any working man should. I was laid off not too long ago and needed help bad. This country has taken money from every single check I’ve ever made without question. I see absolutely nothing wrong with receiving some help. Who the fuck are you ignorant people to tell me or make me (excuse me) attempted to make me feel as if I’m less of a man? Who are you to judge me? You don’t pay a single one of my god damn bills so fuck off and go find a lonnnnng self righteous dick to gag on.

So you complain about people mistakenly coming here to get their free phones so much that you even put a yellow disclaimer box at the top of the page, but you are still actively advertising more people to come here?

Oh well, more people will be enlightened at how much you despise helping those who need it.

how is this a scam? And you saying that (undocumented aliens.) YOU BIGOT! these people you call “aliens” hard working people with good family values. they are not able to get these phones because you have to have an SSN to get them and you have to be on SSI, or some county assistance, like food stamps, witch I am on and I have one of these phones, and since undocumented workers can’t get those government services then they are unable to get these phones. Now I’m sure it is possible for some undocumented workers to get their hands on one of these. But there are way better cell phones that undocumented workers are able to get then these phones that only give you less than 300 minutes per month. Hell if I really wanted to I could dig through someones trash and get their DOB, SSN and first and last name and hook up any cell phone I want for free. and so can any undocumented worker being from any country could do the same. so this article is just stupid.

I work full-time. I have been with the same company for almost 16 years. I make about $15.00/hour and on average, it’s 38/hrs per week. I am a family of three…myself, my son and daughter. My daughter, because of my income level, is eligible for reduced lunch. I also get HEAP. I do not get food stamps, medicaid or any help paying for my rent, which is $600 per month. I live in the northeastern United States, and it DOES get very cold here in the winter months. The furnace just EATS oil so I am very grateful for the assistance I get from HEAP. Because I receive HEAP and my child is eligible for a reduced lunch cost, I also am eligible for a Safelink telephone. It helps…quite a bit. I work. I pay taxes, so if I reach a point in life where I am struggling to make ends meet, I will not shy away from a helping hand. Tough if you don’t like it. I’m not asking you to. If I am working and contributing to society, paying taxes and abiding by the law, I will take anything offered that will help me out.

So Sherri, I suppose you’re using the library computer and internet at 4:27 am? Perhaps you might considering cutting out a few luxuries to be able to afford the necessities? Have you heard of Vonage? Unlimited phone calls for $25/month. Can you fit that into your budget? Then you don’t have to worry about running out of minutes. Since you have a job, the only time you would be out of touch with the school or sitter, would be while you were driving to and from work. Speaking of driving, what do you drive? Living in the Northeast you must be paying a lot for insurance. I know I did when I lived in NJ. Gas prices are really high, maybe you should consider public transportation? Just trying to help.

Most people here really wish they made 15 dollars an hour and got 38 hours a week to feed themselves and their kids. Some of us have to work two or three jobs to pull that many hours, but we actually pay for their phones.

I used to have a PDA phone and I used it all the time for the internet, but at around 150 USD a month it was too expensive. My wife and I now have prepaid phones and they work for us since we don’t make many calls, but I -pay- for them. I could go back to paying the high bills and get us two iphones but my wife and I like vacations, good food, and nice clothes; there are simply too many other things worth spending the money on (like diapers and food), and if the internet costed as much as in the US then we probably wouldn’t have that either. In that sense I completely understand that it helps not spending 150 USD a month, but the idea that people who make as much as (or more than) I do getting a free phone from tax money is kinda lame. If you can’t afford 20 USD every few months then you probably have other issues.